Easy Watermark Removal From Furniture

 

This is a post from my old blog that I thought I’d republish in light of this.

No matter how many coasters you put around your living room you’re bound to have watermark circles on your furniture, or perhaps some other water damage. Read on to learn how to correct this easily.

 

When I saw this table in my local Brocante I loved it. You can’t see it in the main picture but the legs have these beautiful carvings. I couldn’t believe my luck when I saw the price ticket of 35€ and knew exactly where I’d put it.

When I took a closer look at it I could see the reason for its low price; the top had been damaged by water and there were little white splash marks all over it. I new I could correct this though without too much fuss so quickly snapped it up.

Marks like these can be made by liquid or steam – they are more commonly found as a result of hot cups on a table and are usually white or light-colored. If they’re light coloured it signifies that they haven’t penetrated deeply, so it’s safe to buy that Brocante piece. If the stain is dark, however, it indicates that the liquid has damaged the finish on the wood and possibly through to the wood itself, so you may want to give it a miss as you’ll have more of a fix on your hands.

With my table top this is the method I used successfully, but there are additional methods below.

How I Fixed My Table Top

I used spray oil from my kitchen cupboard for my first step – yes, that’s right, just normal, cooking oil. However other materials to use that you can find laying around the house are mayonnaise or petroleum jelly. Basically you’re going to remove the watermark with oil.

Here you can see the wood before and the result after I’ve rubbed in the oil (I’m afraid the before photos don’t really show how vivid the marks were). To finish with I had some Annie Sloan dark wax and as this was a dark wood I decided to use that. However any solid, polishing wax for wood can be rubbed used. It’s that simple!

Other Methods To Use

1. Put a little toothpaste, not the gel type, on a wet cloth and rub the stain gently until the spot disappears. The mild abrasive in the old fashioned, white toothpastes will remove the stain. Wash it and then wax as I did. If you have only  gel toothpaste you can mix a little baking soda with water to form a paste and rub this in. Just to be sure I’d try this method on a piece of wood you can’t see first, but it really isn’t so harsh as to cause problems. Again clean off and wax.
2. This next one you will definitely need to try on a hidden piece of wood; if the product dissolves the finish, obviously, don’t use it. Use a mild solvent such as a paint thinner and apply it with a moist, soft cloth in a circular motion until the stain is gone. Squeeze excess moisture from the cloth, and then rub gently until the stain is gone. Again clean it and wax it.